Talking to Ghosts
by merb412
Summary: Cecily grew up a very haunted hotel, and being a sensitive, the ghosts took an interest in her. When Zak Bagans and the crew investigate the hotel, they see how sensitive Cecily really is. They invite her to travel with them, and Cecily gets more then she bargains for when she says yes.
1. Chapter 1

It had been ten years since I set foot on the property of the Witch's Hut, the old hotel that I had grown up in. As I pulled onto the property, a sense of uneasiness washed over me. I really hated it here, but whatever was here, loved me. I couldn't tell if they were happy I was back, or angry that I had left. I parked in front of the tree that they had hung witches at. Getting out of the car, I stared up at its bare branches. It was October, and this tree always lost its leaves early.

"Miss Evans!" I turned at the sound of my name. I could never tell if I was actually going to see someone or not. It was only Joe, our land manager. A small smile spread across my face. It had been so long since I had last seen him.

"Hey Joe, long time no see." He pulled me into a hug.

"Much too long Miss Evans."

"Cecily, Joe. Call me Cecily." No matter how many times I told him to call me by my first name, he always called me Miss Evans.

"My parents home?" I asked. Joe shook his head.

"They went out to meet the boys, to talk about what's going to happen tomorrow and all that fun jazz." I sighed.

"All right, let them know I stopped by?" Joe nodded and went on his way. I quickly got into my car and drove off the property. This time, I could tell they were angry.

Ever since I was little, the hotel had been haunted, and for what ever reason, the spirits had taken a likening to me. They never left me alone, and as I got older, they got more terrifying. I moved out of the hotel as soon as I turned eighteen and I refused to go back there, but the hauntings continued and my parents were getting fed up. So they called the Ghost Adventures Crew to see if they would investigate our hotel. To my surprise, GAC said yes.

As I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment, my cell phone started to go off. It was my mother.

"Hey mom," I said as I started my walk up to the forth floor where my apartment was located.

"I'm so sorry we missed you sweetheart! Are you okay?" I could hear the worry in her voice. Having GAC at our hotel meant that I would have to return home, and my mother knew that it was a lot to ask me, but I actually wanted to do it.

"I'm fine. A little scared but I'll be fine. Joe said you met with them today?"

"Oh yes! And let me tell you they are all nice gentlemen." I rolled my eyes. Mothers, they always had ulterior motives. "But they said that they want to start the interviews around noon. Will you be able to make it on time?"

"I'll be there mom. Don't worry." Tomorrow was a Saturday, and I took yoga classes in the morning. "But I got to go love you!" I didn't give my mother a chance to say goodbye before hanging up on her. I walked into my apartment and was greeted by my black cat, Gizmo. I picked him up and plopped down on the couch.

I couldn't believe that after ten years, I was actually going back to the hotel. It was insanity after everything that had happened to me. I had been in and out of therapy for several years because of it, and I was willingly going back? Something serious must be wrong with my brain.

_I opened my eyes to see that I was lying in my bed in my old room at the hotel. Why was I here? I tried to roll over, to get out of bed, but I couldn't move. __**No, not again. **_

_ "Cecily…" a voice whispered. It was one of the male spirits. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to ignore the feeling of hands running up my legs. _

_ "Why did you leave us Cecily?" A female. My breathing was becoming frantic. _

_ "We love you honey, and you ran away from us." It was impossible to ignore them. Their voice kept getting louder, angrier. They had finally had enough. It felt like someone was holding a lighter to my stomach as they raked their nails down my arms and legs. I started screaming. _

I sat up violently; throwing my cat on the ground. The morning news was playing on the television; I must have fallen asleep on the couch. I checked my arms and legs before letting out my breath. Checking the time, I saw that it was only 5:30. Well there was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep now. I wandered into my bedroom to look for some yoga pants; might as well go for a jog before yoga class. I pulled on the tight pants, found my favorite electric yellow sports bra, a white tank, and pulled on my black north face.

I pulled my hair back as I stepped out into the cool autumn morning. There was something relaxing about running in the morning. It took my mind off of things, like what I was getting myself into by going back to my childhood home. I crossed the street and found the path that laced through the woods. Not many people ran on this path. It was old, and there were horror stories surrounding it. I found it peaceful and serene. My friends thought I was crazy, but hey, maybe I was.

I was almost late to yoga that day. My run had lasted a bit longer then I had anticipated.

"There you are! I was beginning to worry," my best friend Aubrey said as I entered the Yoga room. She had been my best friend since middle school.

"Sorry, I had a bit of a hectic morning. Needed to get out and run." She nodded as I set up a yoga mate next to hers. I pulled off the north face and readjusted my hair.

"You excited to meet the Ghost Adventure's guys?" Aubrey asked with a huge smile on her face. She was a huge fan of their show and couldn't believe that they were going to be investigating the hotel.

"I'm not looking forward to going back home, I can tell you that much." Aubrey gave me a reassuring look. She was the only one outside of my immediate family that knew about what happened to me. Aubrey opened her mouth to say something right as the Yoga instructor walked into the room. I gave her an _I'll be okay_ look as I tried to concentrate on what we were supposed to be doing. By the time class got over, I all ready knew I was going to be late.

"You want to go get some lunch?" Aubrey asked as we rolled up our mats.

"Sorry Hun, I can't. I'm supposed to be at the hotel like now." Aubrey laughed a little.

"Well good luck!" I waved goodbye as I literally ran to the car.

Zak's P.O.V

"I'm so sorry that Cecily is late. I told her to be here on time," Rachel Evans, the owner of the Witch's Hut Hotel pleaded.

"It's all right Mrs. Evans," Nick assured the woman. Truth is though, I was annoyed. Why was this girl late? She was the real reason we were here. We don't normally take calls, we pick our sites our selves, but from what Rachel Evans had said about her daughter, well we just couldn't refuse. _This place had better be worth it, _I thought to myself as I looked over the front lawn. Aaron, Nick, Rachel and Doug Evans and I were all sitting on the front porch waiting for Cecily's arrival. Rachel and Doug had given us the grand tour of this place, now we just had to interview their daughter to get the personal experiences. _Finally, _I thought as I saw a car pull up the drive.

"You boys ready?" I asked Aaron and Nick. They both grabbed their cameras while I tried to compose myself. I don't know why I was so angry with this girl. The three of us walked out onto the lawn with Mr. and Mrs. Evans fallowing us. We were almost to the car when Cecily got out. I stopped in my tracks. She was beautiful.


	2. Chapter 2

Cecily's P.O.V.

I could see everyone waiting for me on the front porch. _Great,_ I thought to myself as I put the car into park. As I got out I mentally prepared myself for my mother's wrath.

"Cecily!" my mother said in that tone that only mother's can do.

"I know, I'm late and I'm sorry," I said, apologizing to the Ghost Adventures Crew. "There was more traffic then I had anticipated."

"That's all right. We really got to see the whole hotel this way," said Nick. Yes, I knew their names. I did watch the show after all. I smiled a little at them. After the dream last night, I was really uneasy being here.

"Well you ready to start this thing?" I asked, eager to get it over with. The guys laughed.

"I think we should introduce ourselves first," Said Zak. "I'm Zak, this is Nick and Aaron." I shook all their hands, as I hugged my north face closer around me. "You ready to tell us all about this place Miss Evans?"

"Please, call me Cecily."  
>"You ready Cecily?" Zak said, correcting himself. I smiled as I nodded. I led them back up to the hotel. As I crossed the thresh hold of the hotel, I could feel all their eyes on me. They were angry.<p>

"Wow, it didn't feel like this in here earlier." I turned around to look at the guys.

"It's because I'm here. I'm sure my mother told you that the spirits here took an odd fancy to me." They nodded. "Right, well I guess we can start in here." I walked into the dinning room.

"All right, we're just going to film a quick introduction," Zak said as he led me over to an arm chair. I was very aware of his arm on my shoulder. I nodded as he went back to his team and looked out the window. A chill ran down my spine. They were watching me. "Right here with us is Miss Cecily Evans to tell us about her personal experiences in the hotel that she grew up in. Miss Evans, please tell us about what happened here in the dinning room." I took a shaky breath before I began my story.

It was like this through the whole hotel. I told them everything that happened, and then…we went up to my old room. The window over looked the front lawn and I had a perfect view of the hanging tree.

"This was my room growing up," I started as I stared out the window. "They never left me alone in here. When they first started talking to me, it was just whispers. I thought they wanted to be my friends, so I talked to them. At first they were nice, but as I got older, they became hostile. It was normal for me to wake up screaming bloody murder because they were hurting me."

"They hurt you?" Zak asked in his professional tone. I nodded. "What would they do to you?"

"Everything. I'd wake up with scratches, bite marks, burns. Sometimes they even drew blood."

"Cut." I turned to look at Zak.

"Did you get everything you needed?" I asked as another shiver ran down my spine. They were all in my room, watching us.

"We got everything plus more. Thank you Cecily," said Aaron as he and Nick brought their cameras down. "We're going to go put these away." Zak nodded as his two crew mates left.

"I hope what I told you guys helps," I said as I sat on the window seat.

"Oh it does believe me." I smiled a little at him. I had forgotten about how much I hated it here.

"Can I ask you something? It might be kind of personal," Zak asked as he sat down next to me. I laughed a little.

"I've basically just told you my entire life story, what could be more personal then that?" His lips twitched as they spread into a smile.

"Good point, but why did you come back here? This place obviously affects you." I shrugged.

"I moved out on my eighteenth birthday, haven't been back since. I guess I figured I have to face the demons before they'll leave me alone." Zak nodded.

"Good point."

"Want to know a secret?" Zak's eyes lit up like a little kids.

"Of course!" I laughed a little.

"Did my mother tell you the history of this place?"

"Just when it was built and stuff."

"Well, growing up, I did a little bit of research on this land. The hotel was built on an unmarked graveyard, and that tree out there is where they hung the witches."

"Are you serious?" I nodded. "I can't believe she didn't tell us that." I laughed a little. My mother was strange when it came to this place.

"You guys are doing the lockdown tomorrow night right?" Zak nodded. I got up and grabbed some paper and a pen. "Here's my cell number. Call me and we can meet up somewhere tonight and tell you anything else you want to know about this place."

"Really? Would you mind if I brought a camera?"

"No." Zak smiled as he stood up staring at the piece of paper.

"Well expect a call from me later tonight." I smiled at him, noticing how attractive he was for the first time. 

Zak and I walked back downstairs to find my mother talking to Nick and Aaron.

"Are you staying for dinner Cecily?" she asked hopefully. I hadn't eaten here since I moved out, and I wasn't going to start tonight. I was all ready being overwhelmed.

"I can't mom; I've got a deadline that I have to make." She looked disappointed, but I knew that she understood.

"What's the deadline for?" asked Nick.

"I'm a journalist," I said with a smile on my face. I loved being a journalist. I said goodbye to my mother and walked out to my car with the guys.

"Well thanks for doing this for us Cecily, it really helps with the investigations," said Nick as he helped Aaron pack the cameras away.

"It was no problem really; I hope everything works out for you guys tomorrow. It was nice meeting you all!" I said as I climbed into my car. I waved to the guys before driving away. I sighed in relief when I finally made it home. I knew it was going to be hard going back there, I just hadn't thought it was going to be that hard.

I plopped down on my couch and pulled out my phone to see a text from a number I didn't recognize.

_Hey, it's Zak; just making sure you got my number._ I stared at the text for five minutes. I had really given my number to the Zak Bagans. I could feel the blush rushing to my cheeks. I hadn't realized that I was being so straight forward with him. I tossed the phone onto my recliner, now worried that he wasn't going to call. I sat on my couch, staring at the phone like a love sick school girl. I kept telling myself that it was just because it was Zak Bagans. It could have been true, but if I as being honest, he had been my celebrity crush for well over two years. Finally, the phone started to ring.

Zak's P.O.V.

As soon as I got into our van, I pulled Cecily's number out from my pocket and programmed it into my phone, making sure to send her a text so she had my number as well.

"Dude what's that?" asked Aaron from the back seat.

"Cecily's cell number," I explained.

"How the hell did you get that!?"

"She gave it to me, how do you think I got it."

"Did you two have a moment when you were upstairs by yourself?" joked Nick as he drove us back to the hotel. As much as I hated to admit it, I could feel myself blush.

"Come on dude, I wouldn't do that!"

"Yes you would!" Aaron said through his laughter. "When was the last time you even touched a woman Zak?" Honestly, it had been a while.

"We're going to talk more about the house, that's all," I insisted.

"I'd jump on that Zak. She was hot." I shot a glare at Aaron. She was a client, nothing more, I knew that, but I still didn't like Aaron calling her hot. It gave me a feeling that I was not used too. When we got to the hotel, the three of us went into our separate rooms. I was glad to get away from them. I didn't need them bugging me about the Cecily thing. It was nothing after all. I sat down on the king sized bed and dialed her number.

"Hello?"

"Cecily? It's Zak Bagans."

"Hey! You want to meet all ready?"

"Uh…" I hadn't really planned this conversation out. "Want to meet around seven? There's a Starbucks across from our hotel."

"Sure that sounds great. What hotel are you guys staying at?"

"Holiday Inn on Sixth Street."

"Great, I'll see you then." With that she hung up. I couldn't help it, but I actually felt nervous. It had been a long time since I had been alone with a woman as beautiful as Cecily.

Cassie's P.O.V

As soon as I hung up on Zak I threw the phone onto the couch. It was finally hitting me that I had met the Ghost Adventure's Crew and was going to be meeting Zak one on one tonight. The blood immediately rushed to my cheeks.

"Whoa," I whispered to myself. Today was crazy. I had gone back to the hotel for the first time in ten years, met the guys from Ghost Adventures, and was going on a date with Zak Bagans. "It's not a date, it's not a date," I told myself as I walked into the bathroom. If I was sure of one thing, it was that I needed a shower.

Stepping out of the shower, I quickly blew my hair dry so it was in it's natural ringlets, threw on a pair of ripped jeans, and a cami. Walking back into the living room, I grabbed my laptop and north face, before heading out to the Starbucks. May as well get some work done while I'm at it.

When I got to the Starbucks, it was only five thirty. I ordered my usual drink and a muffin before finding a cozy corner to work in. I wrote history articles for the cities newspaper, and as boring as that sounds, it was actually a very popular part of our newspaper. This week I was doing an article about Boston. I was reading the article and double checking my notes to make sure that everything was right and that it flowed. I was totally focused on work with my glasses on and headphones in, I didn't even notice him approach.

"This seat taken?" I jumped, taking out a head phone. It was Zak.

"Only by you." He smiled as he sat down with a coffee in his hands. He looked almost nervous. It was cute.

"You look different," he commented. "It took me a while to recognize you." I blushed as I adjusted my glasses

"Sorry, I didn't even think of that. I showered when I got home." Zak let out a little laugh.

"No worries, I figured it out. What are you working on?"

"Work, just making some final adjustments" Zak nodded as he sipped on his drink. "So," I said as I emailed the final copy to my boss, "what would you like to know about my family's hotel." Zak smirked; this is what he lived for.

"Why don't you start with the history?"

"Well you know most of it I think. What you're really interested in is the stuff I did research on, right?" Zak smiled and nodded. I told him about the ground before the hotel was built. He already knew that the tree out front was used to hang some of the witches of Salem, but he didn't know that the grounds surrounding the hotel had been used as a burial ground for the witches.

"Your family didn't know about the burial ground before buying the hotel?" Zak asked. It wasn't a stupid question. It would seem like something a person interested in the hotel should know.

"It wasn't common knowledge at the time. In fact, it still isn't. I had to do very extensive research on the grounds before even coming across the mention of a grave yard. The deaths were documented, but very few families kept a record of where the accused witches were buried. Once accused, the witches weren't seen as human anymore. As sad as it was, the families didn't want to associate with that." Zak nodded, accepting my answer, but it only raised another from him.

"How did you find out that it was graveyard, exactly?"

"I did the research and got a hunch. I bugged the mayor of the town enough that he hired a few guys to dig up a plot a few yards away form the tree. And guess what they found?"

"Bones?" Zak said with a smile on his face. I smirked as I nodded. "Well, I think I have everything that I need. It's sort of amazing how much effort you put into researching this place." I just shrugged.

"When whatever is in that house takes an interest in you, you take an interest in it. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I confronted them."  
>"You always could." I snorted in the most unlady like way at Zak's suggestion. It made him laugh. I liked his laugh. "I'm just saying, going into that hotel with my crew, may be the safest way to confront them."<p>

"Yeah, but I don't really feel like getting hurt by them." I said it with a smile, but a chill ran down my spine.

"These ghosts really messed with you huh?" It sounded like a stupid question after everything he had learned about me today, but in the tone of his voice, I could tell that he had a deep understanding of what I actually went through.

"I haven't required just yet," I said seriously, and I hated to admit it, but I was kind of considering his proposition of going into the hotel with the crew. Ho


	3. Chapter 3

After Zak and I left the Starbucks, I was giving serious thought to actually going back to the hotel to confront the ghosts that had haunted me for so long. Would it be safer with them? I mean they hunted ghosts for a living, but how could you fight something that you couldn't see? As I was staring at the ceiling above my bed, Gizmo jumped up and sat on my chest, staring at me.

"What do you think bud? Should I do it?" I asked the cat. He regarded me for a second before mewing. I laughed a little before scratching his head. It looked like I had my answer. I fell into a restless sleep that night with Gizmo by my side.

When I woke the next day, I just stared at the ceiling. I needed to call Zak, but first I needed to build up my confidence. When I looked at the clock, it was already noon. I groaned as I threw one arm over my face, and felt for my phone with my other. I peeked through my fingers to dial Zak's number before covering my face again. He picked up on the second ring.

"Cecily?" he sounded confused. And why shouldn't he be. We had said goodbye last night with the knowledge that we would most likely never speak again.

"Hey, sorry for the call," I hated the way my voice sounded. It sounded weak and nervous, "but I was thinking of what you had said last night. About facing the spirits. I want to do it." He was silent for a while.

"Are you sure about this? I don't want you to put yourself in danger or anything."

"I'm sure." My voice came out breathy, it didn't sound like I was sure about this at all.

"Okay," Zak said after a small pause. "Let me talk to the guys about this. I'll give you call back afterwards." I nodded, and then remembered we were on the phone.

"Look forward to it," I said before hanging up. I sighed as I threw my phone to the foot of my bed. What was I getting my self into?

After my phone call with Zak I took a shower. The running water helped clear my head as I let it run over me. It was a hot shower, and when I finally stepped out the entire bathroom was steamy. I couldn't even see my reflection. I wrapped a towel around myself before reentering my room. I noticed my phone blinking at me, and saw that I had a voicemail from none other then Zak Bagans.

Zak's P.O.V

After Cecily hung up, I was in shock. After everything she had told us yesterday, she seriously wanted to go back into that hotel?

"What was that about?" asked Aaron as he dug into his food. We were at a small local restaurant going over the lockdown tonight.

"Cecily wants to go into the hotel with us tonight," I said, still in disbelief.

"Seriously? Why? What did you say to her last night?" Nick asked.

"I didn't ask her to go there if that's what you're saying," I retorted back, a bit offended that he would suggest it. "I said that if she ever wanted to face those ghosts, it might be a little bit safer with us. I mean we have a better understanding then most."

"I mean if she really wants to, it might be a good way to get some killer evidence."

"We could put her in her old room as a sort of trigger, see what happens."

"Well I guess it's settled then, I'll give her a call and let her know what's up." I walked away from table and went outside to make this call. I still couldn't believe that Cecily wanted to do this, but I took out my phone and dialed her number. It went to voicemail.

"Cecily, its Zak. Just talked to the guys about you joining us tonight. We think that it'd be cool for you to be a sort of trigger tonight. You'd just hang out in your old room for a while, by yourself, and we'd be in our base. If you're still interested in joining us tonight, send me a text and meet us at your family's hotel at eight."

Cecily's P.O.V

Well, looks like I'd be back at the hotel at eight o'clock tonight. I quickly sent Zak a text telling him that I would be there before getting ready for the day. I didn't do much, just sat around and tried to mentally prepare myself for what I was going to get into. I called my mother and told her. She was scared for me, but if this got me to visit her more, she was ok wit it. I also called my brother Richard. I had been a while since we had talked. He was away at college and didn't want to be on television anyways. I found out he was planning on coming home for a semester. It would be nice to see my punk kid brother again.

I had expected the day to drag on, but before I knew it, it was 7 o'clock and I had to get ready. I walked into my bathroom and just stared at my reflection. I tried not to think about what I was getting myself into and focused on what one would wear to hunt ghosts. I thought about the episodes of Ghost Adventures that I had seen. The guys always seemed to be wearing black, so black it would be. I picked out my outfit and looked at myself in the mirror. I wanted to look good because one, I'm a girl and when I look good I feel good, and two, Zak Bagans was a very attractive man, and I wasn't above going without makeup around cute guys. In my tight pants, combat boots, and black sweatshirt, I looked good. I sighed as I threw my hair up into a ponytail and grabbed my keys.

"Wish me luck Gizmo," I said to my cat who was lounging on my bed. He just gave a look before he went back to licking his paw. I snorted as I left my home. As I pulled up to the hotel, I could see the guys setting up a tent like structure a few yards away from the hotel. I parked my car in front of the tree, took a deep breath and made my way towards the tent. I stood in the small opening as I watched Nick, Zak, Aaron, and two other men I hadn't met, check on all their camera angles. They were all so focused on what they were doing, that no one noticed me standing there. I cleared my throat, to have five sets of eyes turn and look at me. A small smile touched Zak's lips as we walked over to greet me.

"Hey, how you holding up?" he asked as he finally reached me.

"I'm alright," I said as I crossed my arms across my chest. I was uneasy here. "Little stressed out, but what else is to be expected." I tried to smile, but Zak must have seen the fear in my eyes. A look of concern crossed his face.

"You don't have to do this. You know that right?"

"I know, but there's a part of me that needs to do this. I've closed off this part of my life for so long, it's time to face it." Zak smiled as he put his hand on my shoulders and led me into the computer base.

"I'm glad to hear it. Come on, there's some people you need to meet."

Zak introduced me to the two techs that worked with them. One was named Billy and the other was Jay. The guys explained to me that I was going to spend most of the night with Billy and Jay, watching the monitors for any sings of activity. Then around three in the morning, I was going to be in the house, alone, in my old room, talking to the ghosts to try to get some good evidence. Zak had told me I was going to be a sort of trigger. I didn't really like the sound of it, but I was here and there was no turning back now.


End file.
